


Mass Effect The Long Night

by Deaths_Head_11



Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-09
Updated: 2018-01-09
Packaged: 2019-03-02 13:09:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,137
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13318809
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Deaths_Head_11/pseuds/Deaths_Head_11
Summary: A slightly differeny imagining of the Mass Effect Trilogy and will encompass all DLC, including reference to the novels and comics. Eventual OC/FemShep. NOT A S/I. Will include all the characters from the games, comics and novels.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> DISCLAIMER: I do not own Mass Effect or the characters from said licensing. They are owned by BioWare/EA. Only the original characters which appear in this fanfic, and are of my own creation, I own. now that that's out of the way, shall we continue, yes?
> 
> This work is also posted on Fanfiction.net

Prologue  
On a uncharted research space station, a scientist watched the screen in front of him with interest, as his other compatriots were huddled over the five long, frosted tubes. There contents, worth a small fortune... IF... the augments worked. He didn't know where The Illusive Man had found them, nor did he care. All he cared about, was the five cold sleep tubes and entertained the possibility of 'What may come...'.

The console behind him flashed, trying in vain to attract his attention. The other scientist in the room with him, looked at the screen and swallowed. She turned her head to the side and spoke to him.

"Dr. Winston, The Illusive Man wishes for a update on Project Long Night."

With a sigh of annoyance, Dr. Theodore Eleanor Winston turned and faced the speaker.

"Guess I better not keep him waiting... Keep an eye on the readings, Tubes Two and Five have some minor abnormalities in the spectral scan. Make sure they stay within the optimal levels until I return."

His assistant nodded, as he left the room and walked down the hall. The sterile white of the space station spoke of cleanliness... of pure humanity. It also spoke of the values of Human purity and the salvation of the Human race, issues of value to the organization known as Cerberus. As he approached the communications room, he paused. He knew his superior demanded results, but with the case of Project Long Night, a sly smile appeared on his face. He knew The Illusive Man had plans for any of the subjects of his project, but he was damned if he'd let Cerberus take his work. A former Alliance scientist, he left after seeing all the kowtowing the Alliance was making towards the Council and all the alien races.

He looked down at his omni-tool and made some quick adjustments, and he knew his assistant would make the necessary arrangements. Standing straight and smoothing his coat, he palmed the access panel and walked through the door and stepped onto the communications ring. A few seconds later, he was staring at a holographical recreation of the leader of Cerberus, The Illusive Man. Sitting in front of a large red star, The Illusive Man's silhouette seemed to stare directly into Winston's soul, searching... searching for any information. Winston knew that The Illusive Man has bugs and agents everywhere, even in his own projects to ensure that nothing goes wrong. Winston waited calmly for the leader of Cerberus to speak. He didn't have to wait long...

"Dr. Winston. I trust everything is proceeding at the appropriate pace?"

Winston frowned inwardly. He knew his superior would know how the project was going, yet he asks?

"Everything is proceeding according to schedule. Ice One and Ice Three should be ready in a matter of a few days. Ice Two and Five, are slightly behind schedule but the delay is negligible."

With a slow drag on his cigarette, the end glowing brightly and illuminating softly the face of The Illusive Man, he was silent as he pondered the information Dr. Winston had just told him. With a quick glance off to his right, and out of range of the holographic projection, he scanned the data on a screen. He then focused his sole attention on Winston.

"What about Ice Four?"

Winston paled slightly. Ice Four. The one he had worked diligently on, the one... he had plans for himself. With a slight nervous tremor in his voice, he spoke.

"Ice Four... unfortunately we are experiencing some... delays in the information feed into the subject's mind. There is... conflict, for lack of a better word, in that it appears Ice Four may be experiencing cerebral decay." Or the subject may be fighting the feed he added silently.

Silence washed over Winston, thick and palpable, as he waited patiently for a response. After what seemed like forever, The Illusive Man spoke, his voice tight.

"That... is unfortunate indeed. Ice Four was to be the prototype and test type for future operations. Repair the damage immediately..." slowly, he stubbed his cigarette out in the small holder on the arm of his chair. The Illusive Man stood up, and slowly walked over and stopped directly in front of Winston's hologram "You have exactly twenty-four hours to rectify this situation, otherwise Ice Four will be destroyed. Ice Five will then be chosen for the experiments which Ice Four has undergone. Also..." his eyes narrowed, so only a slim blue line could be seen through narrowed eyelids "You shall be... replaced. Have I made myself clear?"

Winston nodded slowly, understanding racing through his mind. When he spoke, only a slight strain was in his voice.

"I will not fail you sir. Rest assured, Ice Four shall be fully operational in twenty-four hours. I give you my word."

After staring into the scientist's eyes, The Illusive Man nodded.

"See that you do succeed. Otherwise the consequences... well, let's just say, you wouldn't like them." He paused then added "Did I say twenty-four hours? I meant twelve."

And with that, the conversation was ended. Winston stepped off the communication ring, his hand drawing a cloth from his pocket which he wiped across his face. Slowly, his mask of professionalism returned. He turned and left the room, walking swiftly back to his lab. He had a lot of work to do, and not enough time to do so.

Eleven Hours later:

Winston looked at the chronometer. His time was running out, but he had managed to complete the transfer. Ice Four's knowledge was completely upgraded to the current century. He knew that The Illusive Man had found these five cold sleep tubes hidden away in a bunker on Earth, and from how archaic the technology was, he guessed that the inhabitants were put in cold sleep in the early twenty-first century. He looked at Ice Four... a grim smile spreading on his face. He had already identified the cold sleeper, and had decided to do what he could to save that person. Flying over the console, his hands made the appropriate selections, with a sad look on his face. The floor under the cold sleep tube of Ice Four, opened from underneath and slowly the tube was lowered onto a narrow track, under the lab. Once it was locked in place, the floor sealed above it, and the tube was rocketed along the track heading towards the outskirts of the space station.

Winston pressed a few buttons, as the station's mainframe was downloaded into a single OSD. With little time, he entered commands which locked the remaining four cold sleep tubes in place, and disabled their safety protocols. The lights in the room flashed red, and deftly he disabled the alarms before their shrill sound could be sounded.  
He also disabled the station's alarm systems, and stared at the screen in front of him for a few seconds, before tying in his omni-tool to the station's mainframe. He stood quickly and made his way out of the lab, heading with purpose towards the launch bay. Preoccupied with his thoughts, he was caught unawares as one of the burly security officers called out to him.

"Dr. Winston? Dr. Winston! Sir!"

The security officer reached out and grabbed the doctor by his shoulder, startling him. With a gasp of surprise, he whirled and was staring into the face of Security Chief Calloway. Standing just over seven feet tall, he was pure muscle but also completely professional in his duties. He was also a hundred percent loyal to The Illusive Man and Cerberus.   
Swallowing, Winston nodded to the security chief.

"Oh... I'm sorry Chief. Just rather preoccupied with my own thoughts at the moment."

The Chief nodded slowly, studying the scientist. When he spoke, his voice was measured but with a edge.

"Sir, I appreciate that you're under a lot of stress, but is it really wise for you to be wandering the halls? Shouldn't you be in your lab, working away on the project?"  
Winston smiled slightly, a dry chuckle escaping his lips. He looked into the chief's face.

"Everything is going according to plan. The Illusive Man, I think, will be... surprised with how well the project has come along. Yes... very surprised."

Chief Calloway kept a neutral look on his face. There was something wrong with Dr. Winston. Something he couldn't put his finger on, but was determined to find out. He stepped aside, letting the scientist continue on his way unhindered. It was well known that Dr. Winston, when he was pondering his thoughts on the project, he would wander the station's halls and end up in the hanger bay, staring out into the vacuum of space. Calloway turned and headed back down the halls, towards the lab allocated to Project Long Night.  
At the hanger, Winston looked over and nodded at his assistant who had already prepared a shuttle for launch. Inside, was the cold sleep chamber of Ice Four, safely secured and tied into the shuttle's life support system. He looked at his omni-tool, and pressed a button.

Just as Chief Calloway put his hand on the activation panel of the lab's door, the glowing panel changed from a glowing green, to a angry red. Calloway entered the all access code and waited for the panel to change to green. When it didn't, he immediately slapped his communication headset.

"This is Chief Calloway! I'm ordering a General Quarters Alert, and for all security officers to make their way to hanger bay five! Dr. Winston is to be arrested immediately! Lethal force only, and I repeat ONLY, if needed!"

With his long stride, the security chief raced down the halls, towards the hanger deck and bay five. Inside bay five, Dr. Winston had activated a magnetic shield over the entrance to deck five. He stepped into the shuttle, as his assitant activated the launch cycle, sending the shuttle flying out of the station.

"Patch me through to Calloway, and set a course for Mindoir." he told his assistant, as the screen next to him flared, showing the angry visage of Chief Calloway "Ahh, chief... found something amiss, did we?"

"Dr Winston, return to this station immediately and surrender yourself and your assistant immediately. Return the Cerberus property, and The Illusive Man may be merciful."

A laugh left Winston's lips.

"Nonsense! I know for a fact that there is no bone of mercy IN The Illusive Man's body!" he looked at his omni-tool, the countdown clock reaching the ten second mark "If I were you Calloway, I'd make peace with whatever Gods you believe in, as you'll be dining with them very soon."

Calloway's eyes went wide, as all the screens on the station showed the countdown clock, slowly counting down to zero. He only managed to say two words...

"Oh fuck..."

The station's core ruptured, sending tremors throughout the station, as the destructive energy raced out of the reactor, killing all the crew in the engineering deck. The shuttle rocked violently as the shockwave of the space station's death, hit them. Stabilizing the shuttle, his assistant looked at him, slight worry in her eyes.

"Sir? Are you sure Mindoir is a wise choice?"

Winston nodded, still staring at the screen which showed where the space station had been.

"It's a safe colony, non Alliance and no Cerberus at all." he smiled as he leaned back in the seat "Nice safe place to lose ourselves..." and for Ice Four to live again he added silently.

Satisfied with the answer, his assistant double checked the course, as she prepared for the jump. Winston sighed and closed his eyes. Located in the Attican Traverse, it was a safe location. Safe from Cerberus... safe from the Alliance. His ancestor has a place safe to live. After all... what could possibly go wrong?


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any text between >..< is comm chatter via omni-tool, comm unit.

CHAPTER ONE:

Mindoir, 2170

The person once known as Jennifer Atkins, assistant to Dr. Theodore Winston, was known to the people of the small colony as Mrs. Morrigan Teagan wife to the new Doctor, Alistair Teagan. The small shuttle they had stolen from the Cerberus facility, managed to get them safely to the small colony world where, after three years, Theodore continued with the research on Ice Four.

She knew what the Illusive Man had planned to do with any successful result from Project Ice, or at least she had a fair guess. It was well known that Cerberus had anti-alien agenda, and wanted to promote Human superiority throughout the known Universe. Theodore on the other hand wanted something else, but Jennifer had no idea what that was.

She sighed as she ran a hand through her auburn colored hair, looking around the colony. Their assimilation into the colony had been a success, as the previous doctor had been recalled back to Alliance space. Jennifer wondered briefly if Karin Chakwas was happy working in the Alliance, and briefly entertained thoughts of abandoning Theodore and his work.

Then, her omni-tool flashed, and with a sigh, she activated it. Theodore’s voice came through crisp and clear.

>Morrigan, have you picked up the supplies and the... package?<

Jennifer frowned slightly, before responding.

“I have. Your contact came through quite... prompty.”

There was a pause...

>The Batarians are nothing if not prompt... provided you have something they... ‘require’. Return immediately... the project is in the final phase.<

Finding it difficult to swallow, Jennifer paused before responding.

“Understood, I’m on my way back now.”

There was no reply, just the abrupt cut in communications as Theodore cut the channel. Jennifer sighed again, and started back down the street to the house she shared with Theodore and Ice Four. She had done some research of her own into Ice Four’s origins, and had found that Theodore’s motives for saving this subject were flawed... He was under the impression that Ice Four was his ancestor, when sadly it was Ice Two who he was a direct descendant of.

Ice Four had been born in September 1983, and had been placed into cryogenic suspension in 2011 due to having a inoperable brain tumor. The parents of Ice Four had paid a exorbitant amount of money for the procedure, which would’ve been a extremely costly procedure back then.

When Theodore had recruited her for his team, for the sole purpose to remove the brain tumor in Ice Four, which she accomplished successfully. She had wondered at the time, how people survived back then, with how rudimentary and primitive the technology was.

Still, after accomplishing what she set out to do, Jennifer remained on Dr. Winston’s staff and became his personal assistant, working with him on the project. Due to her background in neuroscience, Jennifer was placed in charge of removing Ice Four’s original memory and then replacing it with the files The Illusive Man had given them.

She had read the information on the files, and was horrified. Project Ice, was to create the perfect killing machine... no remorse, no hesitation... highly skilled and proficient in all forms of killing. Theodore was the one who decided not go through with that, and altered the information feed. Altered it to something she had no idea what, but surmised was to enact his revenge on Cerberus and it’s enigmatic founder...

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she paused outside the small house she had called home ever since arrival on the colony world. Inside the abode, in a secret room hidden within, former Cerberus scientist (now rogue), Dr. Theodore Eleanor Winston was hunched over the console in front of him. His long, bony fingers flew over the keyboard as the readings on a nearby console fluctuated in time to the commands he was entering.

He glanced slightly over at the cryo tube, he had spent all his time working on. Soon... so very soon, Ice Four will be ready. The perfect killing machine, to exact it’s (and his) revenge against Cerberus and it’s founder, Jack Harper.

Theodore resumed his work, while Jennifer walked over with the datapads he had requested her to pick up, when the alarm sounded. Whirling, he reached over and pressed a few buttons and a image of a Batarian Slaver vessel appeared on it, orbiting Mindoir. With a snarl, he turned his attention back to the original screen he was working on.

“Damn it! So close, and now the Batarians are here! Quickly Jennifer, begin the final download into Ice Four!”

Jennifer took her position, and made a few adjustments to the data download before commencing. She knew, that if Theodore found out what she had done to the data, he’d kill her in a instant. True she worked for Cereberus, and has seen a lot of horrible experiments, but that was why she joined Dr. Winston when he left. She had made a silent vow NOT to let Theodore’s demented vision of revenge succeed, so she had altered the datafeed. Instead of the detailed assassination program, which included all forms of combat both armed and unarmed along with a plethora of other data, she had only added the survival feed she had worked on herself, as well as a language feed, ensuring that Ice Four would not just survive, but excel at hiding from Cerberus and anyone after it.

She had also included in that feed, the information she had recovered of Ice Four’s previous life before being cryofrozen, but encrypted it so Ice Four’s mental state wouldn’t break down by the sudden surge in information. In short, once Ice Four was woken, it’d have a blank slate, with survival and linguistic memory engrams... and it’d have only it’s name linking it to it’s previous life.

The building shuddered violently, as the first of the Batarian landing craft, touched down nearby. The sounds of gunfire, screams of the colonist in contrast to the barking of the Batarians could be faintly heard by Theodore and Jennifer, the former finalizing the physical adaptation routine, which would finish adapting Ice Four’s body into that of a Soldier. Jennifer turned to grab a datapad, when the door to their abode erupted, showering the room with splinters and debris, as four Batarians entered with weapons drawn. Theodore snarled to himself, the Batarians won’t find the room they were in, but they’d know that there is two humans in the building. 

He pressed a few more buttons, watching on the screen as the muscles of Ice Four grew taut and had finished the physical adjustment that Cerberus and himself had wanted for their killing machine. Standing, he hurried to the door and pulled forth a M-8 Avenger Assault Rifle from the lockbox at the foot of the door, as Jennifer was finishing the touches to her console.

With a nod, Theodore opened the door and stepped out into the hallway, Jennifer just behind him who sealed the door to the small lab they had just been in. No one, would know it was there, as it was protected from even the highest military grade scanners available in the Alliance. Theodore hurried down the hallway, Jennifer quickly glancing at her Omnitool, stating the download was seventy-five percent complete. Picking up her Predator pistol, she hurried down the hallway, then fell back, as she saw Theodore’s body going flying past, riddled with holes from the Batarian fire team.

Slamming into the wall, then sliding down to the wall, the former Cerberus scientist gasped through bleeding lips as he turned his gaze on the four Batarians, who stalked towards him. He managed to reach his omnitool and activate a shock pulse he had built for it, just as two of the Batarians reached out to grab him. The omnitool sparked as it drew the energy from the barriers of all the Batarians in the room and then the built up charge of violent energy erupted forth, streaming from Theodore’s body, into the two Batarians.

The other two fell back as they watched the energy overload their companions barriers, and heard the sound of the electricity arcing over the skin, the Batarians screams echoed in the room as their skin was rapidly burned, their four eyeballs erupting violently due to the booby trap Theodore had installed in his omnitool.

Jennifer swallowed, then took aim and fired four times. Each shot struck one of the remaining Batarians in the head, their shields already weakened, causing his head to erupt due to the barrage. The remaining Batarian whirled and returned fire down the hallway, all his shots missing Jennifer, except for the last which hit her in the stomach.

Crying out in pain, the human managed to turn and hurry into a nearby room, hiding behind the desk with her free hand over the wound in her stomach, as her blood flowed from the wound. Grimacing she panted in pain, as the door to the room slid open, and the remaining Batarian entered the room, weapon tracking the room. It was then, her omnitool announced that the download was complete... and drew the Batarian’s attention directly to her hiding spot.

The weapon fire destroyed the desk, but not before Jennifer managed to throw herself on her back, sliding along the floor into the wall. She raised her weapon, as the Batarian aimed his weapon at her. Both fired at the same time, the shots echoing in the small abode, oblivious to the sounds of the Batarian slaving raid taking place.

==================================================================================

Two days later, the SSV Einstein had responded to a distress call from the colony and had dispatched Marines to help liberate the colony from the Batarian slavers. On the far side of the colony, Lieutenant Ernesto Zabaleta and his marine contingent were making their way forward to the outskirts of the colony, when they were fired upon by Batarian fire teams.

Private Hendricks, turned to the Lieutenant, as the other Marines tried to return fire on the entrenched Batarians.

“Lieutenant? We can’t go any further... those four eyed freaks have us pinned down!”

Zabaleta leaned slightly out of cover, and through the scope of his sniper rifle, was able to look over the colony’s main landing pad, where the Batarian’s had landed and were now in the process of herding shackled colonists into small containers to be loaded onto the ships. He saw a young brunette woman, no more than sixteen, being slammed into a wall and then thrown into a crate by a Batarian. The screams and pleas of the colonists could be heard by his team, and he turned away from the scene before him. He activated his comm unit to speak to his ship.

“Zabaleta to Einstein, come in! My team is pinned down and we need support!”

Aboard the Einstein, the comm officer, one Lieutenant Hannah Shepard, turned to the ship’s captain.

“Captain, I have a request from Lieutenant Zabaleta for support and...”

The captain, a former soldier under Admiral William’s command on Shanxi, faced her with a grim look on his face. With a sigh, he walked over to her station, leaned over the console and spoke.

“Lieutenant, this is Captain Harver. We’re unable to provide the support you request at this time, due to the Batarian dreadnought in orbit. We were only able to drop you and the three other contingents before it came into range. You’ll have to make do with what you have for now son.”

Hannah listened intently as she heard Zabaleta once again plead for assistance, as another marine was taking footage of the event happening on the planet below them and was sending it straight back in real time to the Einstein. The entire bridge was silent, as the images were shown on almost every screen.

Zabaleta snarled, then looked at his team.

“All right boys, we’re on our own. Let’s go show those four eyed bastards what Marines can do!”

With a cheer, the eight man squad lept forth from cover, and ran closer to the colony, the Batarian fire teams weapons raining fire upon them. Leaping behind cover, Zabaleta heard a cry and saw Private Hendricks’s body convulse by the combine firepower of four Batarian weapons and a mobile weapon platform, tore the hapless marine apart.

Zabaleta turned, and drew his assault rifle with one hand and palmed a grenade in the other. He team provided covering fire for him, as he stood up out of cover, primed and threw the grenade. His aim was true as it slapped against the base of the mobile weapons platform, and four seconds later, the grenade exploded, causing the platform to tilt over and fall onto three Batarians, crushing them. The remaining Batarian turned to run, but was cut down by Zabaleta’s squad. Quickly, as the sky darkened to night, the Marine hurried forward, as two of the Batarian transports lifted off, leaving only one behind.

=================================================================================

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Karin Chakwas, never served at Mindoir during her medical career... just a plot element I added for future conversations with the OC who will be joining the Normandy. Regarding Hannah Shepherd, we know that in 2183 during what is referred to as the Eden War Conflict (Events of Mass Effect) that she served aboard the Alliance Dreadnought, the SSV Kilimanjaro as it's Executive Officer. As this part of the story is set in 2170, she wouldn't have the rank of XO just yet, so I thought of making her a Comm Officer this early in her career.
> 
> It was also just another way to bring Hannah in, as well as a bit more for Zabaleta as he's only available for a small side mission in the first game.

**Author's Note:**

> The term, Long Night, has been used in countless other sci-fi novels, etc as another term for Cryo Sleep, Cold Sleep, etc etc. Is Ice Four my version of Shepard? I could tell you... but I won't. Just have to wait and see, yes? Please R&R.


End file.
